Two more Boulder & Briar pipes

[Boulder&Briar]

Well I still have a little more stem work to do. I'm not happy with the thickness and am going to thin them out some more at the bit. The second one here named
"Gold Rush" I think may receive an entirely different stem, maybe about a 3/4 inch longer with more of a bend to compliment the hanging qualities of the pipe. Let me know what you think so far.










And then this one I named "Gold Rush"

 

[Boulder&Briar]

I also have 2 others that I'm working on that should be finished by monday night. One is an absolutely beautifully grained smooth horn, with a black ebonite stem and horn colored accent to set it off. Second one is a smaller class 2 sized blasted lovat, stem is going to be black, accent yet to be decided upon but most likely will be an exotic wood, maybe leopard wood.

 

[dshpipes]

Dude! Your pipes are looking pretty sweet!

My only criticism is that your stems look waaaaaay too thick. What's the thickness behind the button?

Not sure you need new stems but I bet if you thin the ones you've got, you'll be much happier.

 

[dshpipes]

BTW, what did you use to texture the sides of the shank on "Gold Rush?" It looks great!

 

[Boulder&Briar]

Dude! Your pipes are looking pretty sweet!

My only criticism is that your stems look waaaaaay too thick. What's the thickness behind the button?

Not sure you need new stems but I bet if you thin the ones you've got, you'll be much happier.

Thanks Huber, The copper fire stem will get thinned down but I'm really considering making a little longer one for the other so I can get a nice flowing bend that will allow it to hang with a little less effort. The both of them are right at .200 behind the button and I am only going to be able to get them down to about .165
I'm going to try flattening them a little more with some heat and try to get them down to .150 which seems to be pretty standard.

The rustication on "Gold Rush" was done with a hand held engraver and then I used a liquid gold leafing, painted it on then wiped it with alcohol to thin it down a little. I let it dry and then waxed it. The stain was done entirely with alcohol based deep brown, sanded to bring out the grain, coated solid with two more coats then wiped with alcohol soaked cotton to lighten it a bit. Then I hand buffed with cotton and then waxed.

 

[Ocelot55]

I must admit, Boulder, when I saw some of your earlier work I was unimpressed. But these two show that you've really progressed at a lighting pace. Those show a clear design, flow, and form. Very nice.

Huber is right about the stems. 1.5" behind the button is a standard but very comfortable bits are even thinner. I'm working on that myself. It's no easy task.

A few hundred more and I'm sure folks from far and wide will be coveting a Boulder and Briar pipe! Good job!

 

[Dutch]

I really like both of these pipes, since cutty's and bulldog's are some of my favorite shapes. The shank on the gold rush pipe gives it a modern twist I really like.

 

[kaiser83]

That Gold Rush pipe is freaking sweet brother, I love the shape. Can't wait to see the others you mentioned. Darn fine looking pipes.

 

[Boulder&Briar]

Occelot, Dutch, and Kaiser, thank you! My mind is set and the decision has been made, I am on a mission brothers.

 

[dshpipes]

Occelot, Dutch, and Kaiser, thank you! My mind is set and the decision has been made, I am on a mission brothers.

Sweet!

Perhaps what I'm responding to is something that your stems aren't doing that a pipe maker friend told me should be done on a saddle or flared stem especially: "Get thin fast." I bet if you make your stem thinner starting at the saddle/flare, allowing for a very slight taper, say .3" to .15," it will look (and be) much thinner. Strangely enough, I speak better in mm than in inches when we get this small, so I'd say aim for a taper that starts around 5mm at the saddle/flare and ends around 3.8mm behind the button. That's the taper I used on my last stem if you care to see what that looks like.

Point is, the faster your stem gets thin, the better the stem will look.

What are the measurements of your current taper, if I may ask?

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Real quick, so as not to hinder the progression of proper advice:

These pipes are whimsical, thoughtful and are near-perfect. I agree, the stems at the bit are a bit thick, and when fixed, should enhance the flow of the overall pipe spot-on.

As was mentioned, what a leaps-and-bounds improvement on these two. Really, really impressive.

8)

 

[Olle0047]

Wow, your pipes are truly works of art. I really like the Gold rush pipe colour / stain combination and that wicked shank!
I truly enjoying the bent brandy i bought

Keep on at it!

 

[Boulder&Briar]

Thank you Kyle, and Olle I'm happy to hear you are enjoying that brandy. :cheers: